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4. Investigation and assessment phase
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5. Assessment orders

Graphs

Admissions to temporary assessment orders, Queensland, 2014-15 to 2018-19

Admissions to court assessment orders, Queensland, 2014-15 to 2018-19

Tables

What are assessment orders?

Assessment orders authorise actions during the investigation and assessment process where the consent of the parents has not been able to be obtained.

There are two types of assessment orders:

• Temporary Assessment Orders (TAO) - if parents will not consent to the actions necessary to complete an investigation and assessment a TAO can be sought directly from a magistrate. TAOs can authorise a number of actions including the authority to temporarily take a child into the custody of the chief executive (Director-General) of the department, however, guardianship remains with the child's parents. A TAO remains in effect for three days from midnight on the date it was decided and can only be extended once, for one business day, if the magistrate is satisfied that application will be made for a court assessment order or a child protection order.
• Court Assessment Order (CAO) - the department must apply to the court for a CAO when a parent will not consent to the actions required to complete an investigation. CAOs provide the authority for a number of actions that allow for the completion of an investigation including temporarily taking a child into the custody of the chief executive (Director-General) of the department, when it has been determined that more than three business days will be needed to complete the investigation and assessment. Guardianship remains with the child's parents. CAOs are granted for a maximum of 28 days, however the Child Protection Act 1999 allows for one extension of a further 28 days.

Why this topic is important

A thorough investigation and assessment is critical in determining whether a child is in need of protection.

The department's response to all notifications is to conduct an investigation and assessment. When this cannot occur with parental consent, assessment orders enable the department to proceed.

Trends

During 2018-19, there were 3,176 admissions to assessment orders, comprising 1,471 admissions to TAOs and 1,705 admissions to CAOs. This is an increase of 53.1 per cent since 2017-18 where there were 2,074 admissions to assessment orders, comprising 989 admissions to TAOs and 1,085 admissions to CAOs.